Liz would have thought that Red would avoid heavily crowded areas since they were trying to stay hidden. Instead, they were in the city, a big city at that. The way that Red had explained it was that they were hiding in plain sight. Honestly, she thought that he just wanted a trip to San Francisco. It wasn't helping with how excited he looked even with them only being in the house.
"Red," Liz said while she flipped switches on the oven to try to get it to turn on. "I can't get the oven to work," she added. Red moved next to her and attempted to help. Nothing seemed to work. He sighed before looking over at her.
"I'll try to fix it tomorrow. How about tonight, we go out?" He asked, keeping his face calm. That didn't stop her from seeing the twinkle in his eyes.
"And let me guess, you know the perfect place," she said, more a statement than an actually question. The corners of his mouth twitched as a light shade of pink covered his cheeks.
"I may know a good restaurant," he replied before crossing his arms over his chest while Liz raised a brow at him. "Or two... Okay, three."
"And?" She questioned, making him sigh in defeat.
"And a pub that sells clam chowder,"
"How often do you come here?" Liz asked.
"I've only been here once."
"... Red, I understand that you enjoy a good meal, but damn."
"Will you stop teasing me about this, already?" Red whispered to her as they entered the building. She smiled at him sweetly and squeezed his hand.
"Okay, I'll stop," she relented, noticing the relieved look on his face. He moved ahead and pulled out a chair for her before sitting down next to her. Looking down, she saw that there was a plate, teacup, spoon, and chopsticks laid out on the table. She lightly touched the spoon and looked to Red. "Where's the rest of the silverware?"
"Hmm?" He hummed, furrowing his brow. "There isn't anymore. We eat with the chopsticks," he added before a waitress came over. She handed them their menus before setting down a pot of hot tea and walking away to give them a minute to find something they wanted to order.
"I don't know what to get," Liz commented while Red poured the tea into their cups. She was a little shocked when it didn't come out brown. Chopsticks and green tea? She was used to things being a little more Americanized.
"I would suggest that we pick out things to split. Lo mein would be a safe food if you aren't feeling too adventurous. If you'd like to try something new, they have a wonderful vegetable soup and an assortment of dumplings. My favorites were either the shrimp and seaweed or the chicken and corn," he responded, making Liz stare at him in shock. Had he just given a monologue on food?
"...Red, when you came here, you didn't happen to binge eat, did you?" Liz asked, only half joking. Red looked displeased as he blushed again.
"I was having a bad week," he defended. Liz gave him a small look of pity before kissing his cheek. He sighed and patted her hand. "Do you know what you want?"
"The soup and dumplings sounded good."
What the hell was she looking at? Was this a vegetable? She held a long strip of green up with her chopsticks and examined it. It honestly didn't look like something that was edible. Glancing over, she saw Red meticulously eating his soup, enjoying and savoring the varying flavors.
She leaned forward and slurped up the long strip. It tasted pretty good. Still, she had no idea what it could have been. Liz watched Red out of the corner of her eye. He plucked a white ball thing out of his soup and hummed in approval at the taste.
Liz managed to get one out of hers, nearly dropping it several times before getting it into her mouth. It was sweet. Why was it sweet? The rest of the soup had a certain spiciness to it.
"Everything alright, sweetheart?" He asked, seeing her distressed look.
"I don't understand my food," she answered honestly. He chuckled lightly before scooting the dumpling plate towards her.
"Take a break from the soup. I think you'll enjoy these," he stated. Liz reached over with her chopsticks and tried to pick up one of the dumplings. It slipped and fell back onto the plate making her groan in annoyance. She tried again and huffed in dismay as it fell again. Red chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched, not wanting to laugh.
"God damn it!" Liz swore as she drop the dumpling again. This time, she had gotten it off the plate and halfway to her. It ended up landing with a splash in her tea. Red coughed to cover up a chuckle. Liz cleaned up the tea that had ended up on the table before fishing out the dumpling with her spoon. She plopped it into her mouth and chewed with an annoyed look on her face.
"How does it taste, sweetheart?" Red asked.
"... Good," she muttered around the food in her mouth. Red gave her a small smile before kissing her cheek. "There's not a chance of me getting a fork, is there?"
"I'm afraid not."
"I'm gonna go back to the soup for a minute," she said and picked up her bowl. After taking a sip, she asked, "do we get fortune cookies?"
"No, fortune cookies are an American thing."
"Why should that matter? I saw ice cream on the menu," Liz countered, taking another sip.
"Ice cream was made in China," red responded, getting a startled look from her.
"... Everything I know about food is a lie," Liz stated and fished another mystery vegetable out of her soup. "I don't even know what the hell I'm eating."
So, I'm excited about this story just because of how much I like San Francisco. The restaurant is based off of one I went to. I had the same problem with the soup, but it tasted amazing. I hope you guys like this.
